


Whatever it Takes

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 13:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: Takes place after 10x07. Spoilers!Danny looks after Steve.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 18
Kudos: 249





	Whatever it Takes

**Author's Note:**

> Just couldn't not write something after watching that episode! Alex absolutely killed it. 
> 
> This has not been beta'd and I finished writing this after 1am so hopefully it's not too terrible!

As soon as the bathroom door clicks shut, Danny glances around the hotel room Steve has been staying in. He doesn’t know what’s worse, the letter the government had sent him, or the small bland room they had provided him. This is the thanks Steve gets? It’s a slap in the face for all that he’s gone through for the CIA.   
  
What concerns Danny the most is the knowledge that Steve has spent the last 48 hours in DC and all the room has to show for it is empty beer bottles. The bed is untouched and Danny knows it means Steve probably hasn’t slept since he arrived. 

He gulps down another mouthful of beer and turns his gaze to the window and the sky turning a nice shade of purple. It’s been a long time since he’s been in the city and for a very good reason. Too many lawyers and politicians. No-one tells the truth in DC. 

He wants to go home and he knows Steve needs to be home. Maybe not in the house that his father had died in, but home surrounded by the family he has created over the last ten years. That’s what Steve needs. Danny is going to make sure it happens. 

“What are you looking at?”

Danny’s head whips round. He hadn’t heard the bathroom door open. “Nothing.”

His eyes follow Steve as he sits back down on the couch opposite. He doesn’t like the empty look in Steve’s eyes. The same empty look that Junior had seen in Mexico and prompted him to call Danny. 

_ “He needs you right now,”  _ Junior had told him. Danny had boarded the next available flight. 

The last time he’d looked like that was after Joe White had been killed. It had taken weeks for Steve to smile again. Steve had pushed them all away after Joe, including Cath. There hadn’t been anything Danny could do but watch Steve grieve. He’ll be damned if he lets Steve do it alone again. 

“Have you eaten?”

“I’m not hungry,” Steve grunts, his eyes never meeting Danny’s. 

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I said I’m not-

“Well, I’m starving,” Danny cuts in as he digs into his pocket for his phone, “I’m ordering a pizza,”  _ Or two  _ he thinks. 

“Do whatever you want, I don’t care,” Steve sinks further into the cushions and gulps his beer. 

Steve has finished the first beer and is onto a second by the time the pizza arrives. The room fills with the smell of baked pizza dough and melted cheese. Danny places the two boxes down on the coffee table, pushing empties out of the way but not caring if the greasy cardboard stains the letter underneath. 

Once open, Danny wastes no time in lifting up a slice and moaning as he brings it to his mouth. “Not as good as a New Jersey slice but I’ve had worse,” he says with his mouth full. He enjoys his pizza slowly, watching as Steve eyes the second pizza. 

“I probably shouldn’t have ordered two, my eyes were definitely bigger than my belly,” he declares, ignoring the way Steve’s eyes flick up from the pizza and narrow in Danny’s direction. 

“I know what you’re doing you know,” Steve says softly. “I’m not an idiot.”

“You’re right, only an idiot would ignore good food when they’re obviously hungry.” 

Steve stares at him for a long moment before he reaches out and grabs a slice. He swallows the food like he’s on autopilot, biting into the pizza with little care for the taste. It’s just about putting food in his stomach. He eats everything but the crust, chucking the nearly burnt end back in the box. He doesn’t eat any more but Danny counts it as half a win. 

“You need me to book our flights back tomorrow?” Danny asks as the leftover pizza cools and the cheese congeals. Steve has already returned to his drink. 

Steve shakes his head slowly. “There’s something I need to do first.”

“Here?” Danny frowns. He can’t imagine what it would be. 

“LA,” Steve answers. 

Suddenly the food in Danny’s stomach sits heavily and he regrets eating that fourth slice. “Mary,” he realises. Steve nods. “No-one should have to lose their mother twice.” 

“Not fair is it,” Steve agrees bitterly, bringing the bottle back to his lips. 

“I’ll get Tani to sort us out a couple of tickets.”

Steve frowns. “You don’t need to come.”

“I’m not leaving your side until you’re standing on Oahu, and even then I might not let you out of my sight,” he says firmly, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to be closer to Steve. Steve’s eyes watch curiously as he crosses the room and lowers himself down on the couch, near enough for their knees to touch. “You’ve been MIA for two months, I’ve been going out of my mind with worry, my kids kept asking where their Uncle Steve was and there wasn’t anything I could tell them.”

Steve swallows, “I’m sorry.”

“God Steve,” Danny grimaces, “That wasn’t meant as a guilt trip….I just wanted you to know how much I-” he stops himself. “Nevermind.”

“Tell me.”

“It can wait,” Danny insists. “God knows we’ve put  _ that _ conversation off long enough as it is.”

Realisation fills Steve’s eyes. “Maybe we should put it off indefinitely.”

Danny swallows hard, the taste in his mouth suddenly bitter, “You mean that?” 

“Don’t you get it?” Steve frowns, his dark eyes swimming with a pain that almost takes Danny’s breath away. “The people in my life, anyone I get close to dies...they  _ leave me. _ ”

His father, his aunt, his sister, his mother, Cath, Joe, Freddie, Chin, Kono. All of them had left Steve in one way or another. 

“This is  _ me,  _ Steve, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” 

“I can’t risk it," Steve’s head drops, his eyes looking down to grey carpet below. 

“Steve.”

“I can’t.”

“ _ Steve. _ ”

Steve’s eyes snapped back up to meet Danny’s angrily, “You think this hurts right now? This is  _ nothing _ compared to how I would feel if I lost you” Steve admits sharply. It’s clear by the surprised look in his eyes that he hadn’t meant to reveal that to Danny. He stands up suddenly and walks over to the window, turning his back to Danny. Danny lets him. 

He knows Steve needs some space and steps out into the hallway to call Tani. She promises to email over their flight details within the hour, instructs Danny to look after their boy and hangs up. 

When Danny steps back inside, Steve is still by the window. The light has completely faded and there’s not much out there to see anymore. 

Danny clears his throat before speaking, “We should get some rest.”

“I’m not tired.”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” Danny walks over to Steve. “Come on, just a few hours,” he places his hand on Steve’s good shoulder and leads him over to the bed. Steve doesn’t say anything, doesn’t resist when Danny slowly reaches for the clasp on the sling and carefully removes it. 

He doesn’t know if Steve has another set of clothes, Danny certainly didn’t stop long enough to pack anything before his flight. Taking a deep breath, he reaches for the hem of Steve’s shirt, the tips of his fingers skimming the warm skin underneath as he lifts it up. Steve winces but doesn’t make a sound as he raises his arms to help get the shirt off. 

Danny tries not to look at the dressings taped down over his shoulder and collarbone, marred skin peeking out from underneath. It hurts to see Steve injured but he knows it could have been a lot worse. He knows Steve had gone to Mexico with the knowledge that he might not have returned. He’ll never tell Steve, but he’s glad it was Doris and not Steve that ended up in the body bag. 

Steve still doesn’t say anything as Danny reaches down to his belt buckle and zipper. He pushes the pants down Steve’s legs and encourages his partner to lift one foot at a time to slip them and his shoes off completely. Steve stands at the end of the bed in nothing but his boxers as Danny pulls back the covers. 

“C’mon,” Danny says softly. 

Steve looks down at the bed and then up at Danny. “Are you-

He doesn’t finish his question but Danny knows what he’s asking. His answer involves removing his own clothes. Steve watches as Danny turns off the lights apart from the small lamp beside the bed and slides under the sheets on one side, leaving plenty of room for Steve to climb in next to him. 

Steve looks at the bed indecisively for a second then lowers himself down onto the mattress. He lies on his back, his whole body tense. 

Danny sighs and shuffles a little closer. “Babe,” he places his hand down on Steve’s bicep. 

“I kept having this dream,” Steve blurts out. “Back in Mexico.”

“What about?”

Steve blinks and shakes his head, “Doesn’t matter.”

“Seems like it matters,” Without really thinking about it, he begins stroking his thumb back and forth across Steve’s skin. 

“I don’t want to sleep...If I sleep I’ll have the dream.”

Danny doesn’t need to be a detective to guess what the dream is about. “You can’t stay awake forever,” he reminds him. 

“I know,” Steve lets out a long sigh. A weight-of-the-world-on-your-shoulders kind of sigh. Danny would give anything to take that weight off him. 

“I think it’s bullshit by the way.”

Steve’s head snapped around, his eyes wide in surprise. “What?”

“What you said earlier...about us.”

“Danny-”

Danny lifts his hand and cups Steve’s bearded jaw, “It’s too late Steve, we’re both too far in this thing. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a deep-cover mission in another country or lying beside me in bed, the amount I care about you doesn’t change.”

“I can’t lose you too.”

“And I told you I’m not going anywhere.”

“You can’t promise that,”

“No,” Danny agrees. “But if we have the next thirty years of our lives together or just tonight, I would still want to be with you.”

Steve’s face softens, “Yeah?” He asks, his voice barely a whisper. 

Slowly, giving Steve enough time to say no, Danny pushes in closer. In the quiet room, he hears the way Steve’s breath hitches moments before he presses their lips together. The kiss lasts for just a second before Danny pulls away and rests his head back on the pillow. 

He watches with a slight smile on his face as Steve’s hand rises up and touches his lips like he can’t quite believe what just happened. 

“Sleep,” Danny instructs. “We can talk in the morning, or whenever, no rush.”

Steve nods dumbly. He shifts onto his side facing Danny. “Turn over?”

“Hmm?”

Steve prods at Danny until he turns onto his side facing away from Steve. Once settled comfortably, he reaches over and turns off the lamp. A moment later, he feels Steve’s body press up against his, warm like a radiator. His arm slides around Danny’s waist and his nose tucks into the back of Danny’s neck. One of Steve’s legs nudges in between Danny’s and their feet tangle together. Danny could get used to this. 

He stays awake for a while, waiting for Steve’s breaths against his nape to even out. He doesn’t know how long Steve will sleep for but some is better than none. In the morning they’ll fly to LA and he’ll stand like a sentry by the door as Steve breaks the worse news possible to his sister. 

Steve doesn’t know what he needs but Danny does. As soon as they’re back home, he’ll pick up the kids up from Rachel’s. He understands better than most the healing power of being around those two. He’ll feed Steve all the best comfort food and hold him in the dark when nightmares wrench him from sleep for as long as he needs. 

Odell will be getting a call at some point too. Danny doesn’t like the person Steve becomes when he has the beard. The same person who disappears for months at a time, the same person who does things that scare Danny. He wants  _ his _ Steve back and he’ll do whatever it takes to do that. 

He lifts his hand and places it over Steve’s, threading their fingers together.

Whatever it takes. 

  
  



End file.
